INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nico Angelo Putra Mooduto, Mahareksha Singh Dillon, Talitha Amanda Ekadhani and Bagas Ananta, SSEK Law Firm
• employment and labour disputes (excluding dis- putes between labour unions). 13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award In Indonesia, parties may challenge an arbitral award in very limited and specific circumstances, as arbitral awards are generally considered final and binding. However, parties are given the opportunity to file a request to annul a domestic arbitration award if there are grounds to suspect that the award involves any of the following elements. • A letter or document submitted during the exami- nation, later acknowledged or declared false after the award has been rendered. • The discovery of a decisive document, hidden by the opposing party, that only surfaces after the award has been issued. • The obtaining of an award through deception or fraudulent conduct by one of the parties during the examination of the dispute. The above is not applicable to a foreign arbitration award. However, foreign award enforcement may be refused based on Article 66 of the Arbitration Law if the award: • was issued in a country that lacks a bilateral or multilateral recognition and enforcement treaty with Indonesia; • falls outside the scope of commercial law under Indonesian law; or • contravenes Indonesia’s public policy. 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration Under Article 59 of the Arbitration Law, domestic arbitration awards must be registered with the district court in the respondent’s domicile within 30 days of issuance. Once the award has been signed by the chief of the district court with an enforcement order, it is enforced following the procedure for executing final and binding court judgments. Enforcement of foreign awards is handled by the Central Jakarta District Court, and decisions regard- ing enforcement are not open to appeal or cassa-
tion. However, under Article 66 of the Arbitration Law, enforcement of foreign awards may be denied if the conditions outlined in 13.3 Circumstances to Chal- lenge an Arbitral Award are met. Since PERMA 3/2023, the process for recognising and enforcing foreign arbitral awards has been stream- lined, with clearer timelines for submission and stricter documentary requirements (eg, certified translations and apostilled copies). In practice, this has improved predictability for foreign parties seeking enforcement in Indonesia. 14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform There are no proposals for dispute resolution reform. However, discussions regarding the revision of the Arbitration Law are actively underway. Stakeholder proposals, especially from BANI and legal scholars, seek alignment with the UNCITRAL Model Law, revi- sion of definitions such as “international arbitration”, codification of electronic arbitration, and possibly stricter judicial review limits. A academic memo- randum ( naskah akademik ) and draft revisions were reported completed in 2024, though as of mid-2025 no formal bill has yet been tabled before Parliament. 14.2 Growth Areas Indonesia’s dispute resolution environment in 2025 is witnessing significant momentum, marked by both institutional reforms and rule modernisation. One of the most notable developments has been the Con- stitutional Court’s decision in Case No 100/PUU- XXII/2024, which narrowed the definition of “interna- tional awards” under the Arbitration Law. By removing the ambiguous “deemed” clause from Article 1 (9) of the Arbitration Law, the Court reaffirmed that an arbitral award can only be considered international if rendered outside Indonesia’s jurisdiction. This clari- fication eliminates the previous practice of rechar- acterising certain domestic awards as international, thereby reducing jurisdictional arbitrage and providing greater certainty regarding the enforceability of arbitral decisions.
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